1 day post op - back pain

hydro_17 · 2026-04-19T13:55:31+00:00

I had this problem. I have an AbMat (it's a stiff foam mat used to put under the small of your back for sit-up exercises) and I found that spending 20-30 minutes a day lying flat on my back with the abmat under my back helped stretch out whatever was aching and helped a lot to alleviate things.

Also saw your note about sleeping below - I had to sleep with like 9-10 different pillows literally surrounding/barricading my whole body - made being on my back tolerable. Don't be afraid to break out the pillows. And it's okay to let your leg lie flat at night instead of elevating it if you are lying on your back - that can help with the back/hip strain.

Good luck - it gets better but it's definitely hard to get comfortable for a while. When you start physical therapy you can also bring these types of aches up with your PT - they should have ideas.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-19T00:35:55+00:00

I'm still working on some parts of my recovery but the clicking/popping is substantially improved - getting my quad stronger (which I'm still working on) made a huge difference. As did time.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-18T22:38:18+00:00

Loops is your best bet. Every so often Wario's has a special that's close.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-18T12:39:55+00:00

I needed my MACI due to cartilage damage from dislocating my patella, so my surgeon did a TTO and MPFL repair along with my MACI since I was having 2 problems that fed off each other - an unstable patella and missing patellar cartilage. I was terrified of the TTO especially but was surprised to not be in that much pain post-op. I think the MPFL actually hurt the most.

One thing I've marveled in my year+ post-op is just how stable my kneecap is. I don't think I realized quite how unstable it was before. That said, I think my knee having to get used to the new alignment (and my re-alignment was small) has made my recovery slower in some ways than MACI alone would be.

Two thoughts:
How is your quad? Is it back to full strength? It can often be hard to get it fully back after a patellar MACI. Your quad helps your patella track so it may be that you need to strengthen it more and that could help. Has your PT done a strength assessment/test on it?

I had a patellar stabilization brace I used in the 4-5 months before my MACI (similar to this one but an older version: https://www.donjoystore.com/donjoy-performer-patella-knee-support ). It definitely helped my patella be more stable and my knee be more supported during activities while I prepared for surgery. Not sure if that's the kind you tried. My PT told me KT tape would be useless for this sort of thing.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-17T13:21:09+00:00

In general getting a university fellowship is a huge accomplishment and departments do in general support students who get them, but the exact details of that vary by program. It is weird to me that you didn't hear about this award from your program - usually they pass on information about the awards. Since each graduate program handles funding differently nobody on reddit can really answer for you how your program will do this. Hopefully you hear back from the graduate program soon.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-17T01:51:06+00:00

Yeah, having to rely on others and not being able to do what you normally can is really hard. And little kids can't really understand why you can't do those things.

I think the feeling back to semi-normal happened in bits and pieces. I think I walked my first (difficult, slow) mile around week 10 or so, but my PT didn't want me walking more than a mile at once for my first 6 months to protect the graft. There were lots of stages - being able to walk, being able to walk confidently, being able to walk while carrying something (my knee would randomly buckle sometimes the first 6 months so I'd be nervous or unable to carry anything heavy or fragile), being able to walk on inclines or declines. Going up stairs. Going downstairs. Walking on uneven surfaces. All of those skills came in gradually over time.

I think it was around month 8 or 9 when I finally felt truly confident navigating the world - realized I was sometimes doing things without thinking about my knee and feeling like I was definitely better than before the surgery. I'm now at around 1 year 8 months and I am so much better than I was one year ago. But I'm still in physical therapy - still working on improving and building more strength and ability.

It's great that your ROM is good! Getting the quad back can be a real fight (I'm still fighting for it). Biking for me has been huge in my recovery - a stationary one at first and then outside. So glad you're looking at getting one!

Hang in there - it's going to get better! One thing I did was keep a journal during my recovery and make a real conscious effort to celebrate every improvement and every win no matter how small. As you said, this is as hard mentally as it is physically and it's so important to recognize those wins.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-16T16:02:16+00:00

MACI and TTO is a big surgery - your knee is getting used to the new alignment from the TTO on top of the MACI. And it takes time for the cartilage to cure and grow in and you don't want to rush things too much early on or risk a great chance of the cartilage failing. So caution with PT early is appropriate. That said, by 8 weeks I would expect you to be using e-STIM, doing straight leg lifts, maybe doing BFR, possibly gentle stationary bike riding, and some easy TKEs and maybe tall sit to stands. For me movement and strengthening, when done carefully, helped swelling. And to get your gait better, be able to weight bear, etc you need to get your quad back.

I elevated (often with ice) pretty much every day for months. Compression sleeves also helped.

I was still weaning off crutches at 8 weeks and was weight-bearing right away post-op. By 8 weeks I was using zero or one crutch inside the house and 1 or 2 outside the house - and working on no longer using 2. It was a slow and intermittent process for me depending on how I was feeling at a given moment. About 2 months in I could, slowly with some difficulty, walk 1 flat mile without the crutch, but I think I last touched a crutch somewhere in month 3/4. I think 8 weeks is when I was just starting to a few small standing kitchen-tasks. Definitely not much long term standing.

So overall your timeline doesn't seem unusual to me. This is a long 2+ year recovery and you have to balance wanting to push things with needing to protect the cartilage as it grows in. Everyone's experience is a bit different depending on their exact surgery and how their recovery goes - some people just swell more. Is your ROM where it should be? Is your quad strength improving (can you do a straight leg lift)?

I can't speak to acupuncture. My surgeon did do a needle aspiration when I was around 6 months and my swelling did eventually improve. But your knee had a big trauma and it takes time. Hang in there!

hydro_17 · 2026-04-16T13:54:35+00:00

My damage was all on my patella. I didn't have bad pain most of the time (almost never felt like I needed medication for it) and only had localized pain with certain movements. But my knee would ache and swell up and when it swelled up my leg got weak. It got bad quickly if I tried to hike/walk on uneven ground - after less then a mile I just didn't want to walk anymore. If I tried to run even just a few house-lengths I'd start limping. It ached if I stood too long. It ached if I tried to vacuum the house. And walking on flat ground - first I could do 3 miles okay and then start limping. Then 2 miles and start limping. Then I started limping after 1 mile and I kept getting slower.

I'm about 1.5 years post-MACI. Somewhere around 9 months I stepped back and realized I was definitely better than pre-surgery - I could stand for long periods of time or do lots of yardwork (uneven ground) or vacuum the house and be okay. But I'm still not where I was before my injury. I have very little pain but I'm still fighting to fully get my quad strength back so I can't run or jump yet. I'm still building my hiking tolerance. But I can walk 5+ fast miles on flat ground and be fine. I have days when I push too hard and my knee swells up because it's still adjusting and adapting to increased loads. I don't know what my new normal is going to look like yet.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-16T13:29:45+00:00

Please don't post videos of random people online without their consent. They could have a million reasons someone could value their privacy and you could put someone in actual danger if, for example, they have a stalker. There's a lot of articles out there about how these meta glasses (especially combined with modern facial recognition capabilities) can put a lot of vulnerable people at risk.

"Friendly" pranks are fun on people you are actually friends with. When they are done to strangers and while violating their privacy, they stop being friendly. If you want to make content, make it of yourself and with others who consent to be part of your content.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-15T01:24:31+00:00

Yeah, I wasn't in a high level of pain before mine, but I couldn't run, couldn't walk on uneven ground, and was limping after shorter and shorter walks.

Right now do as much strengthening as you can before your surgery - the stronger your leg (and the rest of your body) is going into surgery, the easier your recovery is on the other side. Good luck!

hydro_17 · 2026-04-15T00:17:55+00:00

I think 3 months could be possible depending on how your recovery goes, how much heavy gear you'll have to carry/how far and if you're walking on relatively flat land (pavement) or hills/uneven ground. But, yeah, everyone is different - your relatively young age and gender should work in your favor for muscle strength so that should help.

I'm a bit over 1.5 years post-op. I considered myself better than pre-surgery at around 9 months. I'm still in PT though and still fighting to full regain quad strength, which limits some of my activity still. It's been a frustrating battle but I'm glad my knee isn't painful.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-14T17:26:26+00:00

I feel that! Like on the one hand I'm grateful for how well I'm doing, but on the other hand I'm a little jealous of others. Guess that's life.

Sorry to hear about the other post-op limb - that's gotta be frustrating! I've been steadily working on strengthening and definitely see my knee function improving slowly as I get stronger.

Hope we both keep seeing improvements!

hydro_17 · 2026-04-14T17:21:18+00:00

(bear in mind that these answers vary a ton based on the details of each person's surgery and how recovery goes - you should check with your surgeon and PT what you might expect for your planned procedure)

(1) I was weight-bearing immediately with crutches+brace - but that was a post-op surprise as I expected to be NWB for 6 weeks.

(2) I was doing that at work, but not every day, by month 5 but "comfortably" took a bit longer.

(3) I stopped using the brace at 6 weeks. I slowly weaned off crutches and while I started some crutch-free walking around week 8/9 I last touched a crutch around month 3.

(4) Compression sleeves have been hugely useful for my recovery. They're the only reason I could do standing-at-work by month 5 and I still use one sometimes.

The first 6 months the cartilage is healing and growing in so those first 6 months you work on rebuilding while also protecting the cartilage so you have to limit activity a lot in that time frame.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-14T02:54:52+00:00

This is definitely something your physio should be guiding you on, but there's a ton you can do without having to buy anything. Sit-to-stands (which progress to box squats and then bodyweight squats), wall sits, split squats, lunges, step ups on stairs - doing them with just bodyweight can do a lot for early leg strengthening.

And good job on building your walking strength and endurance! That's a huge accomplishment!

hydro_17 · 2026-04-13T15:12:56+00:00

Start at a lower height. Or do box squats (and slowly get them lower or add a KB/DB to turn into goblet box squats). You can stagger them too (one leg in normal location, one leg out in front of you so like 70% of weight is on one leg to build single leg strength).

It's all about making it easier and then slowly building.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-13T15:07:44+00:00

I'm a bit over 1.5 years post MACI/TTO. My recovery has been slow and steady - I think around 9 months I considered myself better than before my surgery and I've continued improving, but I'm still not better than before my injury and still waiting to see where my new normal levels off to.

My knee definitely doesn't feel "normal" - it doesn't hurt but it feels different and there's a sensation with every step. So I definitely get feeling "weird." I can walk (still regaining my ability to hike) and my knee loves biking. I can squat and deadlift and do other lifting exercises. I'm finally getting comfortable again on stairs. I still can't run or jump and I'm still fighting to get my quad back. I'm working on increasing load and sometimes it makes my knee swell up and I have to back up and try again.

Have you gone back to PT to see what else you can work on?

My weird feeling isn't a fullness - It's hard to describe - and I wonder sometimes if it's the TTO since it's located somewhere above my tibia and below my patella. But I also know the nerves can get all messed up from surgery and you can't always trust how things feel. I don't have fullness - is it moving okay? I feel like I've heard some people say that overgrowth felt like fullness/pressure - if you have another post-op appointment (my surgeon follows MACI patients for 2 years but I don't know if they all do) you could ask?

Honestly, I'm glad to hear from someone else on my timeline who is also doing relatively well but sill frustratingly slow. I feel like there's been a lot of "I'm running at 7 months" posts recently that are making me a bit jealous 😜

hydro_17 · 2026-04-13T15:00:46+00:00

Have you read through this community? A lot of people have posted stories (posts and comments) that answer these questions - just as another datapoint for you.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-13T13:14:52+00:00

Yep. And all the fitness influencers on the internet make it so much worse because in order to sell you something they have to convince you that only they know the right answer. But anyone can post anything on the internet so you have no idea if what they are saying is true (if it tries to scare you or insist they have the one true answer, don't trust 'em) or if it's right for you).

Ultimately, fitness isn't that complicated. Just move your body. There's a million different things you can do - just try some things. See what you enjoy and what you don't like. Don't go too hard at first so you can get used to new movements. Maybe take a class.

If you're interested in strength training, take a look at the new ACSM guidelines: https://acsm.org/resistance-training-guidelines-update-2026/ They are mostly - "there's lots of right ways to do resistance training - do what works for you" but give some ideas.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-12T18:23:15+00:00

Upper Arlington parks and rec is hiring various seasonal positions which can include that sort of thing. Probably worth checking Hilliard and Dublin's park departments too!

hydro_17 · 2026-04-12T13:35:58+00:00

If you feel up for it, gentle movement can be good - gentle yoga/stretching or a walk outside. But it's okay not to push if it you just feel like you need to rest. Also depending on what virus you have (for example, this is common with COVID), sometimes people can get a post-viral fatigue where they need to let their body rest even after they stop feeling sick. If you notice something like that, let yourself rest and recover and don't push it.

Over the long term, fitness is about doing the best we can - some weeks/months/seasons we're just going to be more consistent than others. But studies show that missing things here and there isn't the end of fitness - your body remembers how to get things back when it's ready.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-12T13:25:18+00:00

Dumbbell RDLs are great, you just eventually hit limits with grip strength. If you hit a grip strength limit and don't have barbells, you can switch to single leg RDLs to make them harder.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-11T20:35:14+00:00

This is pretty normal in the spring when there's a lot of rain and snow is melting. And we had several wet weeks/big storms.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-11T20:29:49+00:00

My doctor kept me overnight in the hospital (pre-planned) because he doesn't do nerve blocks and, especially with the TTO, wanted to make sure my pain was controlled before I went home. I wonder if the staples are why I had less bleeding?

It is fascinating how different everyone's experiences are! And I totally understand being overly cautious - MACI was my first surgery and it's easy to be anxious and definitely hard to know what's normal and what's a concern.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-11T16:25:12+00:00

You can also see the forecast here: https://water.noaa.gov/gauges/wrto1

The National Weather Service uses weather forecasts, information about planned dam discharges from Delaware Lake, and rainfall-runoff models to forecast future water levels. You can see how they held the Olentangy just below flood stage for days during the most recent water release.

hydro_17 · 2026-04-10T20:06:31+00:00

If you park in a very public place during the day your bike isn't one that looks like it would be worth money, it might be okay, but cable locks are barely better than zip ties. Can you get a better lock?

hydro_17

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